The Moon: Earth’s Warm-Up 145 Traveling Companion Name: What is the Moon? What is important about it? of years ago . One of the mountains on the How did the Moon end up where it is? The Moon has remained unchanged over hundreds Moon and Earth were formed at the same time . of millions of years . It is almost as tall as Mount This happened about 4 .6 billion years ago . Everest on Earth . An astronaut’s footprint on the Earth and the Moon make a yearly journey Moon may survive clearly for 100 million years . together around the Sun . At the same time, the The Moon looks big to someone observing it from Moon orbits Earth about every 28 days . This is Earth . However, it is much smaller than Earth . where the idea of the month came from with It has a diameter of 2,160 miles . By comparison, people long ago . the diameter of Earth is nearly 8,000 miles long . The Moon was probably caused by a collision in Because the Moon has no atmosphere or air, the space more than four billion years ago . Earth temperature can rise to 260 degrees F . This is and the Moon are very different . The Moon has about twice as hot as the highest temperature on no atmosphere of air or anything else . It does Earth . The lowest temperature on the Moon can OON M not have any gases or visible water . The be -280 degrees F . This is over 300 degrees : surface gravity of the Moon is very weak . below freezing . This is colder than any place on Because of this, there has been little change in Earth . People on Earth always see the same CIENCE the surface . When meteors strike the Moon, the side of the Moon . The near side of the Moon S ACE P impact makes a crater that stays the same for always faces Earth . The far side of the Moon S millions of years . There are features on the never faces Earth . AND Moon’s surface that look like seas . These seas The Moon is a very interesting object in the sky! ARTH are the result of volcanoes and lava flows billions E 17— What Did You Learn NIT ? U 1. How old is Earth and the Moon? A 4 .6 years B 4 .6 million years C 4 .6 billion years D 8,000 years 2. Why don’t air and water remain on the Moon? A the surface gravity is too strong C there are no people or animals there B the surface gravity is too weak D there are too many mountains 3. What is the lowest temperature on the Moon? A 260 degrees F B -280 degrees F C 1,000 degrees F D 300 degrees F 4. Why does an astronaut’s footprint remain so long on the Moon? A There is no wind or water to wear it away . B The far side of the Moon never faces Earth . C The Moon is always in the same place . D The shoes are very sticky . ©Teacher Created Resources 151 #3968 Daily Warm-Ups: Science Warm-Up 146 Moon Terms Name: Directions: Use the vocabulary words in completing the sentences below. waxing getting larger waning getting smaller crescent a sliver of visible light on the Moon gibbous humped or swollen terminator boundary between light and dark part of the Moon eclipse an event blocking light from being seen from the Moon or Sun surface the top layer of a planet meteors space objects hurtling through space the distance across the center of a circle or a planet OON diameter M : weathering the wearing away of land by wind or rain CIENCE S Fill in the Blanks ACE P S When the part of the Moon that you can see gets smaller, it is said to be ________________ . 1. AND When the part of the Moon that you can see gets larger, it is said to be _________________ . 2. ARTH E When you can only see a thin sliver of the Moon, it is in its _____________ phase . 3. 17— NIT No _________________ occurs on the Moon because there is no air, wind, water, or rain . 4. U 5. The _________________ of the Moon is much shorter than the distance across the center of Earth . 6. The _________________ of the Moon has stayed the same for millions of years except when struck by a meteor . 7. There is a place of partial light that can be seen from Earth at the edge of the visible Moon . It is called the _________________ . 8. An _________________ of the Moon occurs when all or part of the visible Moon is blocked by another space object . 9. In the _________________ phase of the Moon, it appears like a hump . 10. When _________________ strike the Moon, they leave large impact craters . #3968 Daily Warm-Ups: Science 152 ©Teacher Created Resources Moon Facts Warm-Up 147 Name: Directions: Read the information and answer the questions below . • The surface gravity of the Moon is only • The average distance from Earth to the 16% that of Earth’s surface gravity . Moon is about 239,000 miles . Objects are not attracted to the Moon as much as they are on Earth . • The Moon rotates around on its axis about as often as it takes to go around • No weathering exists on the surface of the Earth once . That is why the same side Moon because there is no atmosphere to of the Moon always faces Earth and hold air or water . Therefore, the surface people on Earth never see the far side of the Moon has changed very little in of the Moon . millions of years . The Moon has no • Tides on Earth’s oceans are affected by climate or weather . The Moon has no OON seasons because it has no atmosphere . the gravitational pull of the Moon . The M water bulges out in the direction of the : • The Moon does have many interesting Moon . Since the Earth is being pulled CIENCE surface features: craters, mountains, toward the Moon and away from the S ACE valleys, and plains which are water, another bulge occurs on the P called “seas .” opposite side of the planet . S AND 1 • The diameter of the Moon is about 4 ARTH the diameter of Earth . The diameter is the E distance from one side of the Moon to the 17— other like the distance across a circle at NIT its middle . U Questions 1. How does the Moon affect the oceans and the tides? _________________________________________________________________________ 2. What kind of movements don’t happen on the Moon that do happen to the surface of Earth? _________________________________________________________________________ 3. What things would the Moon need to have in order to have seasons and weather like Earth? _________________________________________________________________________ 4. If there had ever been life on the Moon, how would scientists and astronauts know about it? _________________________________________________________________________ ©Teacher Created Resources 153 #3968 Daily Warm-Ups: Science Warm-Up 148 Phases of the Moon Name: As the Moon orbits Earth, half of its surface is lit by the Sun while the other half is hidden in darkness . There are eight distinct phases that reflect the changes of the Moon’s shape as seen from Earth when different sections of the Moon’s surface are facing Earth . The Moon goes through the same phases every month . The same side of the Moon always faces Earth . Assignment: 1. Study this page . Read each phase . Study each drawing . 2. Decide which phase the Moon was in last night based on your memory . Check your answer tonight using this paper . 3. OON M New Moon Full Moon : CIENCE S ACE The lighted side is facing away The entire lighted side P S from Earth . The Moon is dark . of the Moon is visible . AND Waxing Crescent Waning Gibbous ARTH E 17— NIT U A crescent or sliver of light becomes The lighted side declines or wanes visible . It gets larger each night . until half of the Moon is visible . First Quarter Last Quarter Half of the Moon is visible Half of the lighted from Earth (like half of a pie). portion is visible . Waxing Gibbous Waning Crescent Gibbous means “humped” and The sliver of moonlight declines until the Moon’s light is swelling . the new Moon with no visible light returns and the cycle repeats itself . #3968 Daily Warm-Ups: Science 154 ©Teacher Created Resources Moon Terms Warm-Up 149 Name: Directions: Study the Moon terms below . erosion the change in landscape caused by running water or wind craters holes created in the Moon’s surface by meteors seas name given to Moon objects caused by lava flows gravity the attraction of a Moon or planet toward other objects atmosphere the gases present in the area around a planet or Moon phase a stage in a series or cycle of changes features the physical parts of the land or landscape, like mountains OON M equator an imaginary line around the center of a Moon or planet : CIENCE climate long-term weather pattern S ACE astronaut a space explorer P S AND Directions: Fill in the correct term from above in each sentence below . ARTH E Both the Earth and the Moon are attracted to each other by __________________________ . 17— 1. NIT U 2. The Moon has no ____________________________ but Earth has many different _______________________________ in different parts of the world . 3. The distance around the Moon at its center is called the _____________________________ . 4. The Moon has no ___________________________________ because it has no air or other gases .